Incidental reactive focus on form in language classes: Learners' formulaic versus nonformulaic errors, their treatment, and effectiveness in communicative interactions

Abstract

AbstractResearch on incidental focus on form (FonF) has established associations among the nature of learner error, corrective feedback (CF), and effectiveness of CF measured through uptake. In this line of research, the analysis of learner error has been limited to errors with grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and spelling (nonformulaic). Consequently, learners' errors with formulaic sequences (FSs) comprising collocations, lexical bundles, idioms, and compounds (formulaic) have not yet been investigated in FonF studies. This study examined the extent to which learners made errors with formulaic versus nonformulaic forms, and the degree to which teachers treated learners' errors with formulaic versus nonformulaic foci in communicatively oriented teacher‐learner interactions. Learners' production of uptake and successful uptake after receiving CF was also investigated. The data consisted of 36 h of audio‐recordings from primarily communicative activities in three English as a foreign language classrooms. The findings demonstrated, while learners' formulaic‐oriented errors outnumbered nonformulaic ones, the teachers provided CF significantly more often for nonformulaic errors. However, learners produced significantly more uptake and successful uptake when CF was provided for formulaic‐oriented errors compared to nonformulaic ones. The learners' higher successful uptake following formulaic‐oriented errors could be attributed to the relatively higher saliency, noticeability, and significance of FSs in meaning making.